Quests & Challenges

[center][b]Day 15[/b] [item=wavespun cloth] [item=sardines] Material : Write / Food : 30 - 40 Matches ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/61964042][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/619641/61964042p.png[/img][/url][/center] The question of food soon rears its ugly head again. Doomy frowns as Runaa sorts the remaining food they have. She frowns even harder when she realizes- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/39515954][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/395160/39515954p.png[/img][/url][/center] "We do not have any more plant food," Runaa says, quietly so neither Cameron nor Akali can overhear. Doomy closes her eyes and sighs. This is what they've been dreading. Now, if it were just Doomy, or just her and Collin, they would be fine. Mirror and spiral dragons don't eat plants. To Doomy, even the very though of trying to eat a plant makes her mouth go dry and the urge to retch come up. Sometimes, she has to look away when Runaa or the twins are eating their dinners, chowing down on flowers and weeds like they're the most delicious thing in Sornieth. No, mirror and spiral dragons don't eat plants. There also wouldn't be a problem if, say, they ran out of meat. Doomy and Collin both eat meat, but they can also eat other things just fine. Mirror dragons can eat fish as well as meat, so Doomy would be all right; spiral dragons can eat bugs, so Collin would be fine as well. Tundras, however, can only eat plants. They cannot digest any kind of animal or creature. If they don't have any plants to eat, then they don't have any food to eat, period. And Cameron and Akali are still young, still growing. They, out of everyone here, need food the most. "When did we run out of plants?" Doomy asks, shifting through the multitude of bugs, meat, and fish that somehow never seems to disappear. One would think, living in a forest like this one, there would be a never-ending supply of plants to be found. And, if it were any other time, Doomy would be inclined to agree. But, there has been a cold spell settling over the Starwood Strand these past few days, resulting in some early morning frosts that kill any exposed plants. There's also the fact that no one has left camp since Cloud's departure, since Doomy and Runaa wanted to be focused on taking care of the twins instead of constantly worrying over the other if they went out to gather supplies. There hadn't been a problem with that then. Now, they have no other choice. "I gave the last of the plants to Cameron and Akali this morning," Runaa answers. When Doomy gives her a sharp look, she quickly continues, "We both know they need it more than I do." "So, you haven't had anything to eat today," Doomy mutters, mostly to herself. Then, she nods and stands up. "All right, I'll go out, then. My stomach's full and, technically, it's my turn anyways." "Okay-" [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62447022][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/624471/62447022p.png[/img][/url][/center] "I wanna come, too." Doomy and Runaa look up to see Cameron standing directly behind them, her chest puffed out in an overly exaggerated way. Standing a ways behind her, Akali watches with a mildly concerned expression, but shows no indication that he's willing to also barge in on their conversation. "Sorry, you want to what?" Doomy deadpans, almost hoping she heard her wrong. "I wanna come with you to get more food, too!" Cameron repeats, seemingly oblivious to Doomy's obvious disapproval. [i]Or,[/i] she thinks after taking another look at Cameron's dead-set eyes, [i]maybe she knows exactly what I'm going to say.[/i] She sighs pointedly. "Cameron-" "You can't just expect us to sit here while you go out all by yourself!" she cuts in. "Besides, it's not even your food that you're going out to get anyway. It's food for me and Akali and Runaa." Runaa frowns and raises a brow at her. Cameron wilts a little under the intense stare. ". . . Okay, I eavesdropped a little bit, but so what? Despite what you two might think, we do have ears and we can tell when we're being talked about." Doomy huffs, and is about to come up with a good way to explain that it's too dangerous for her to go when Runaa speaks first. "All right." Both Doomy and Cameron blink at her. ". . . All right?" Cameron hesitantly repeats. Runaa nods. "All right. You may join Doomy in gathering some food." "[i]Runaa[/i]," Doomy hisses under her breath, "what are you saying?" "I am saying that Cameron is right. It would be better for you to not go alone." She gives a small smile to Cameron, who's still blinking at her in bewilderment. "It will also give her a chance to leave the camp and explore our surroundings, like she has been wanting to do for a while now." [i]And it'll make her shut up about it,[/i] is what Doomy hears her not say. She remembers how many times she's told Cameron in just the past day alone to stay put in their clearing and not try to sneak off in a fit of boredom, and she definitely sees the good in that point. When Doomy doesn't offer an immediate rebuttal, Runaa says firmly, "It will be fine. You two will go search for food, while Akali, Collin and I stay here and keep watch over everything." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62356578][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/623566/62356578p.png[/img][/url] [item=starry ampelope][/center] "I would like to go as well." Doomy almost startles so bad she flies herself into the nearest tree, but manages in the end to keep her feet on the ground. She would feel embarrassed, but one look at Runaa and Cameron's fluffed out coats tells her that she wasn't the only one who nearly jumped out of their own skin. The three of them look to see, of all things, Collin and Stars standing nearby. In his eyes is a determination Doomy hasn't seen before in him, and he's just spoken for the first time in days. For those reasons alone, Doomy doesn't hesitate to say, "Yeah, sure, you can come, too. I'm sure Runaa and Akali can handle things here by themselves." Runaa exchanges a look with her, and she knows they both are thinking the same thing, that this could be a good sign. A sign that he's finally coming out of his shell and coming back to them. Cameron seems a bit petulant about their easy acceptance of Collin's request compared to her own, but even she knows that Collin has been out of it, so she stays thankfully quiet. "All right," Doomy sighs, looking between Cameron and Collin, "we'll be leaving soon while there's still light out. I'll tell you when we're going." Cameron brightens and quickly goes off to tell a shuffling Akali the news. Collin, meanwhile, simply stands where he is, waiting silently, but impatiently to go. Something seems off, but Doomy doesn't get a chance to think on it much as Runaa pulls her into a conversation on exactly how much food they should bring back so they'll last more than a few days. Then, when that's over, Doomy stands back up and gestures for Cameron to come on over, which she does after a hasty goodbye to her brother. Collin doesn't need any gesture; he's already at Doomy's side before she even turns to look at him. She gives them both a look over before she sighs and tilts her head to the woods. "Let's go, then." They leave without fanfare, and soon their little camp disappears behind them in the underbrush. "All right, now stay close," Doomy says as they pick their way through the forest, "and keep your eyes peeled for any flowers, weeds, and fruits. Above all, [i]be careful[/i], okay?" Collin nods while Cameron murmurs a quiet "yeah" as her eyes take in everything around them. Knowing that's the best response she'll get, Doomy sighs and leads the way further through the Starwood. Most of the trip is quiet and uneventful, save for Cameron's occasional exclamations about something or other that she finds fascinating and exciting. Despite what Cameron said about helping, it's mostly Doomy and Collin who really try and fill the bag with plant food, and any other kind of food (food whose origins Doomy would rather not dwell on). Collin is the one who holds the bag, and stays silent even as Doomy gently probes him with questions and comments. She tries to tell herself that it's fine, that even if he spend the rest of the trip without speaking, he's still making progress, and she shouldn't push him. That's probably what Runaa would say, if she were here anyway. It goes on like this for a while, until Cameron freezes in place with a loud gasp that snags Doomy's attention. Immediately on edge, she races to Cameron's side and asks in a whisper, "What? What is it?" Cameron opens her mouth, but she can't seem to say anything. Doomy follows her gaze to the bushs ahead of them, and instantly sees what's caught her eye. [center][item=zeeba][/center] There's a creature, a purple one, with dark stripes along its fur and black horns that curl around its face. It's standing straight ahead of them, chewing on a lump of grass and staring calmly at them, as if it has no care in the world. It's a creature, an uninfected one. [i]A familiar,[/i] Doomy realizes. [i]A familiar like Stars.[/i] She turns, just to check to make sure Stars is still beside Collin, that it somehow didn't slightly change shape and magically appear ahead of them, and she freezes. Stars isn't there. Neither is Collin. All that sits where they were just a moment ago is the bag of food, gently placed so nothing spills out. It's then that Doomy realizes with stunning clarity why, exactly, Collin was so eager to come with them. He's gone to find Cloud. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~ @TheAwesoMew @FrostStrix[/center] Whoo, busy day today ^^; The matches in the Scorched Forest took forever and then this entry just kept getting longer, so long that right when I was about to hit submit, turnover happened :^) I saved everything though so here I am finally posting it on my phone ! I will say, for results on the matches, we did indeed have another death, and that death was, unfortunately, Collin. I also had to make a little exception to the "faint and the dragon dies" rules, where for now I'm only excepting one death per set of matches, because if I kept going like that in the Scorched Forest, all the dragons would be dead. So, instead, I subbed Doomy into Collin's spot to be the muscle so Runaa and Cameron (the other two who were picked to be in the coli team) could actually complete the required matches. As a result of that, Doomy and Runaa are now level 8, and Cameron is level 6. Akali is still level 1, and this entry will be the last we'll see of Collin and Stars. And, yes, we got our first familiar drop in the coli today, too ! A zeeba dropped, and its now joined the party ! In other news, the nest hatched ! We get three new dragons from it, with only one egg not making it. They'll probably appear here soon enough once I find a good place to introduce them into the story ! For now, though, they're listed on the dragons post on the first page if you'd like to get a little peak at them before their debut :> [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/3#post_43977951]<- Day 14[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52278424]Day 16 ->[/url][/right]

[center]@TheAwesoMew @FrostStrix[/center] Hello ! Just an update this time, no entry for today. Unfortunately, I've kinda lost inspiration for this project, mostly because I don't really have an end goal in mind ^^; But, I'm not going to completely give up, instead I'm putting this on hiatus. All the dragons have been put in my hibernal den (except for Doomy, who still has a few days left on her cooldown), and they'll remain there until further notice. Another reason why I've kinda lost interest in this project is because my inspiration has been diverted to another, new project I'm creating. It's a lot like this one in that it's a Pinkerlocke based on survival and inventories, but instead of zombie apocalypse media, it's based off of the Hunger Games ! I've seen a few Hunger Games inspired threads around in the forums, and I wanted to do my own spin on it ! If anyone is interested in it, I've started the thread [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2886508]here[/url] and if you want to be on the pinglist for it, just let me know in this thread ! I probably won't start it for a while, mostly because I need more lair space for the 22 dragons I'll need to start ^^; Also, if you want off this thread's pinglist for any reason, feel free to tell me ! I'll understand :> For future reference, here are the Pinkerton pulls from yesterday and today that I'll need to fulfill whenever I restart this : [center][item=gloomy highnoon vest] [item=squirming tentacle][/center]

[center][b]Day 16[/b] [item=gloomy highnoon vest] Apparel : Nest Two Dragons ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/61964042][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/619641/61964042p.png[/img][/url][/center] It’s been months since Collin disappeared. Doomy isn’t quite sure exactly how long it’s been. Long enough that thinking about him no longer brings the same soul-crushing guilt it once did. For days after he was gone, Doomy blamed herself for letting him leave. [i]She[/i] had been the one in charge, and she should have known better than to let Collin out of her sight, especially with the way he had been acting. But she had looked away, and Collin had left. Runaa told her, time after time, that it wasn’t her fault, but she couldn’t accept it. So, she had thrown herself into searching for him. But time passed, and no sign of Collin or Stars appeared. Runaa told her after a while that it had been too long, that Collin could be anywhere by then. She told Doomy that she should stop the search parties and focus on the dragons they had right in front of them. Outwardly, Doomy had agreed. She knew, logically, that it was too late. That didn’t stop her from going on frequent patrols for food, didn’t stop her from going farther than Runaa would be comfortable with, and certainly didn’t stop her from hoping. But time went on and things slowly changed. Sometime after Collin’s disappearance, Doomy stumbled upon a group of three young spiral siblings. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592552][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592552p.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592553][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592553p.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592554][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592554p.png[/img][/url] [/center] They were eager to see another dragon, but Doomy had to hide her initial disappointment after seeing them. They were younger than Collin was, and their colors were completely different from his, but they were still spiral dragons, and seeing them brought the loss of Collin back full force. But she couldn’t let that pain distract her from taking care of these new dragons. She told them about their small group and how they could stay with them instead of by themselves. They quickly asked to join, though one of them was more enthusiastic than the other two. Ivette is the oldest of the three, and she is certainly the leader out of them, even now after the three of them have settled down. She is confident and boisterous and not afraid to say what’s on her mind. Doomy thinks Cloud would have loved Ivette. Mordeyrin is the middle sibling, and she takes that title literally. It seems like there is no other place she would rather be at all times than right between her two siblings. She keeps to herself for the most part and doesn’t seem to have any interest in getting to know anyone else, especially not Doomy or Runaa. Doomy doesn’t mind this that much because even though she doesn’t know the specifics of their background, she knows that the three siblings went through something bad before she found them that day. Krislyassa is the youngest sibling. When Doomy had first come across the three of them, she had assumed that they were two sisters and a brother, but Krislyassa was quick to introduce herself as a girl. She also had the same introverted personality as Mordeyrin, but when she and her sisters became apart of the group, she immediately became close to Cameron. It was some weeks later when Cameron nervously asked Doomy and Runaa to think of him as a boy that Doomy understood why they had gotten along so well. [center][item=zeeba][/center] Speaking of Cameron, he had become quite attached to the creature they had found, having since named it Dia. As the one who found it first, the creature-turned-familiar seemed to have imprinted on him and has since followed him around wherever he goes. Doomy had at first resented the thing, since it was its appearance that had distracted her for long enough to let Collin run off, but after a while, even she had to admit that it was a good familiar. Besides, with Cameron’s penchant for adventure, it was nice that he had extra company to help protect him. But these weren’t the only additions to the group. Just last week, two more dragons happened upon their camp. It was a pair of sister bogsneaks. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754993][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754993p.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754996][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754996p.png[/img][/url][/center] The older sister is Sharice, and she is very protective of her younger sister Dizzy. If Doomy had thought Mordeyrin was bad at socializing with anyone, Dizzy is in a whole other league. She refuses to speak to anyone other than Sharice, and even then she only whispers what she wants to say. Doomy has yet to hear her voice. It doesn’t help that Sharice gives anyone who so much as looks Dizzy’s way a glare that probably rivals the Icewarden’s. Doomy can only hope that they warm up to everyone soon, or they might not stay for very long. [i]Though we all might stay here for much longer,[/i] Doomy thinks. She had told Runaa that she would check the stockpile of food to see how things were with nine mouths to feed, but the sight that welcomed her has made her heart drop. They had all been able to stay in this small area of the Starwood Strand, the same area where they had originally found Cameron and Akali’s nest. Not only had they managed to avoid any large hoards or dangerous creatures, but all of the search parties that Doomy had organized lead to them discovering and bringing back more food. By the time the Spiral siblings had joined their group, their stockpile was practically overflowing with how much food they had. But the patrols have slowed, it is getting colder, and they have since added five more mouths to feed, which all adds to this simple fact: They have no more food. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~ @TheAwesoMew @FrostStrix (Please let me know if you want to remain on this pinglist ! I am clearing the current pinglist now, so in order to be added back, you have to tell me !)[/center] Uh . . . surprise ? ^^; After *checks calendar* more than two years of hiatus, I’ve returned to continue this Pinkerlocke ! A lot has happened since I last posted in this thread, the biggest thing being that I moved half way around the world. And after that site-wide hiatus was over, I came back with a renewed interest in Pinkerlockes and was reminded that I still had this in hiatus ! So I decided . . . screw it, why not keep doing it ? This entry is mostly catching us up on what’s been happening with the group since we last saw them. The exact time skip here is left ambiguous because I didn’t really want it to also be 2 whole years in canon ^^; Things have been peaceful, and we’ve got five more faces joining the midst ! The spiral siblings were supposed to be introduced very shortly after Collin left, but then I put this on hiatus, so we’re only seeing them now. And then we have the bogsneaks, who I nested and hatched a little while after the hiatus started, so they’re only a little bit younger than the spirals ! You’ll also notice that this story now has two trans dragons, Krislyassa and Cameron ! Krislyassa was always going to be trans since I first hatched her, but the idea of Cameron being trans came to me a bit later. I actually grew a little attached to him because he apparently showed up on the front page one day, which brought him to my attention again. Somewhere along the way, I decided he was just going to be trans now, and here we are to see it in the narrative ! Anyways, I’ve tweaked a thing or two in the rules section of this ‘locke. Instead of recording every single food item I get in the coli, I’m going to just record the appropriate food point. When the dragons eat, they’ll subtract the required points from the total points in the inventory on page one. I’ll still be keeping the rule that specific dragons can only eat food specific to their breed. But now I’ll be keeping track of a dragon’s hunger manually by subtracting 3 hunger points at the start of every future day, beginning with the next post, “Day 17”. Dragons have 50 hunger points total, and when they run out, they starve to death. You can see how many hunger points an individual dragon has in their bio. Anyways, I think that’s it ! I’ve started recording my Pinkerton drops today (we have two lined up right now), and I’m planning on doing the next day soon ! I’m going to maybe be a bit more lenient with how often I do this. Depending on how much time I have, I may do several entries in one day, or I might skip a real day or two. But hopefully, this ‘locke will keep on trucking ! As always, if you want to be added to the pinglist, please let me know ! I am still subscribed to this thread :> [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_43989070]<- Day 15[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52294040]Day 17 ->[/url][/right]

[center][b]Day 17[/b] [item=squirming tentacle] Food : 30 - 40 Matches ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/61964042][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/619641/61964042p.png[/img][/url][/center] “We’re out of food,” Doomy says, and everyone breaks out into chatter. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592552][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592552p.png[/img][/url][/center] “No food?” Ivette scoffs. “What do you mean, no food? There has to be at least some food left, right? It can’t have just disappeared.” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592553][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592553p.png[/img][/url][/center] “It didn’t just disappear,” Mordeyrin murmurs. “It was eaten. By all of us.” She gives Doomy and Runaa a once over. “Though someone should have been paying attention to how much was being eaten.” Doomy can see Runaa’s fur start to bristle, so she quickly cuts in, “No, you’re right. It was foolish of us not to think about our food supply. It’s been so long since we had to worry that we got careless. That’s why I’m asking for any volunteers to come with me to gather more food now.” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/39515954][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/395160/39515954p.png[/img][/url][/center] “Wait,” Runaa starts, looking up at the darkening sky, “you want to go now? Why don’t we wait until after this storm passes. It will be safer then.” Doomy shakes her head. “It’ll just be a quick trip. Just enough to have something to eat tonight at least.” Runaa looks like she might protest more, so Doomy turns to everyone else and asks, “So, is there anyone who wants to join me?” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62447022][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/624471/62447022p.png[/img][/url] [item=zeeba][/center] Cameron immediately steps forward, Dia one step behind him. “I’ll go.” Doomy smiles gently at him. “You were on the last few patrols. Why don’t you get some rest and we have someone else.” She has to bite back a fond chuckle when she sees the disappointment on his face and distracts herself by looking at the younger dragons. “Maybe someone who hasn’t gone on a patrol yet, like . . . Dizzy?” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754993][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754993p.png[/img][/url][/center] Sharice quickly comes to stand in front of her sister, hiding her from Doomy’s view. “She’s not going with you,” she says, her chin raised in a challenge. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754996][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754996p.png[/img][/url][/center] Before Doomy can respond to that, Dizzy silently moves around Sharice so she is back in sight. Staring Doomy directly in the eyes, she takes a deliberate step forward. Sharice seems just as surprised as everyone else in the clearing. “Dizzy? What-?” She’s cut off when Dizzy gives her a steady look from over her shoulder before resolutely turning back to look at Doomy. A moment passes, then Sharice sighs. “She’s not going with you,” she says again to Doomy, “not without me.” And then she also steps forward to stand by Dizzy’s side. Doomy is left speechless for a heartbeat; she hadn’t thought that Dizzy would want to go, much less that Sharice would allow her to. And yet here they are, ready to hear what they should do next. She clears her throat. “Okay, good, thanks.” She glances up at the sky herself to survey the clouds. “We may not have much time, but if we hurry, we should be able to get back in time before the storm breaks. So, let’s be quick, all right?” Dizzy nods and Sharice grunts in acknowledgement. Knowing that’s all she’s going to get from them, she nods as well and says, “Let’s go, then.” Before she can lead the way deeper into the woods, Runaa stops her with a gentle touch of her wing. “Just be careful, all right? Head straight back as soon as you feel the first drop.” Doomy knows, from how long they’ve been friends, that Runaa is not just worried over the rain, but also how the rain and darkness from the storm may affect her vision. But Doomy also knows her own limits, so she just gives her a reassuring smile and says, *Of course. Keep watch here while we’re gone, okay?” “Of course,” Runaa echoes, and that’s that. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] “I felt a drop.” Doomy startles at Sharice’s voice and looks up. It’s gotten a little darker than before, but she hadn’t felt anything yet. “Are you sure?” she asks, though she already knows the answer; the air is thick with the smell of rain. “Of course I’m sure,” Sharice snaps. “So let’s head back already.” Doomy frowns and looks around at the ground. Though they had been looking for a while, they hadn’t found anything salvageable enough to bring back yet. What would be the point of going back now? “Let’s head a little farther. There should be a good spot to dig for some vegetables up ahead.” Sharice groans, but the prospect of finding plants she could eat must be enough to convince her, as she wordlessly goes ahead. Dizzy follows close behind, having not said a word the entire way. Doomy sighs and picks up her pace so that she can regain the lead. She knows that this one trip might not be enough to get Dizzy to completely open up like she hoped. Still, it would have been nice to hear her say something, even if it wasn’t something directed at Doomy, but the small bogsneak has been quiet even towards her sister. Sharice doesn’t seem to be worried about it, though, so Doomy trusts that this is normal. As soon as Doomy enters the clearing where she remembers gathering plenty of insects on a previous patrol, she finally feels a drop. Her instincts tell her to turn back, but since they’ve just arrived, they should at least grab something. “Everyone go to a different tree and start digging. Grab any roots you find, and let’s get back.” Not even Sharice complains as they all go to a separate tree in the clearing. Doomy tries to keep an eye on them both, but to her dismay, it’s gotten dark enough out that she can’t fully see the entire clearing. So, she resolves to digging her own hole as quickly as possible. She finds her first plant when it happens. A flash. A bang. Her ears are still ringing when she hears Sharice cry out. She squints and looks to where she thinks she heard her, and freezes. Sharice is shouting at a large wall of flame that is engulfing a fallen tree, and just beyond that, Doomy sees Dizzy try and fail to fly. One of her wings looks burned, and Doomy can see the pain on her face from where she is. What happened clicks into place. The fallen tree, the flames, the storm. Lightning. “Dizzy!” Sharice cries, and steps forward as if she’s going to go right into the flames. Doomy opens her mouth to stop her, when a figure darts out to stand between Sharice and the fire. She blinks, then blinks again. “Dia?” [center][item=rambra][/center] Indeed, it looks almost exactly like Dia, Cameron’s familiar. Except Cameron doesn’t come running out of the woods, and this creature won’t take its eyes off of Sharice. Sharice looks taken aback for a moment, likely having the same thought Doomy did, but she quickly gets over it and growls, “Get out of the way.” But the creature remains firm. “I said, move!” She leaps forward, wings extended, in an attempt to fly over the creature and into the flames. But before she can even get close to the fire, the creature jumps as well, and rams its horns into her body, sending her to the ground where she lays, stunned. Doomy chokes back and yell and moves to go to her side, but the creature is already on her. But instead of tearing into her, or something equally horrible like Doomy expects, the creature gets under Sharice’s prone body and lifts her onto its back. With one glance towards Doomy, the creature starts to sprint the opposite way. The way back towards their camp. Sharice must notice this, too, as she tries to struggle her way off of its back. “Dizzy . . . !” she wheezes, and succeeds in at least slowing the creature down due to her squirming. Doomy looks helplessly between Sharice and Dizzy. The flames are getting bigger, and they’re straining her vision even more with how bright they are. She can only barely make out Dizzy’s face from behind the flames, but she can see when the resignation sets in. Doomy can only watch as Dizzy sets her shoulders, stares directly at Sharice, and says in a clear, sweet voice, “Go!” [b][i]”Dizzy!”[/i][/b] The creature gets Sharice steadied once again, and takes off at an even faster pace. Doomy hesitates for a moment, trying to see where Dizzy is, but it’s useless. The flames have spread throughout the clearing, and they’re coming straight for her. Gritting her teeth, she yells, “I’m sorry!” before taking off after the creature, feeling the heat of the flames slowly subside the farther she runs. Keeping the creature in her sights, she runs as fast as she can. She realizes after some time, maybe a bit belatedly, that they’re running straight towards their camp, that this creature somehow knows the way. And that’s when the rain starts to pour. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] Of course, the coliseum punishes me for taking such a long hiatus ^^; The random coli team chosen started with Doomy, which was already a pretty bad blow to the party’s chances considering more than half of our current dragons are only at level 1 and since Doomy is at level 8, the dreaded Scorched Forest was automatically chosen to be our venue . . . Then of course both Dizzy and Sharice were chosen, our newest recruits. And to top things off, Dizzy died immediately in the first round from two consecutive hits >.> I refuse to let the Scorched Forest completely kill me, however, so I’ve added my “death exemption” from when Collin died to the official rules. Basically, only one dragon can die while doing the food pull matches. After one dragon dies, I’ll substitute that dragon for a different one and continue the rest of the remaining food matches, ignoring any other faints that happen. This will prevent a complete wipeout of an entire team. Maybe if we get too many dragons down the line, I’ll let this exemption rule slide to cull the numbers, but I think having more than one dragon die after we’ve only just met half of them would be a pretty anticlimactic way to continue this Pinkerlocke, especially after such a long hiatus. So ! Dizzy’s death is something like a sacrifice and helped bring immunity to Sharice, if only for this day (even though Sharice is the one with an extra life >.>). Sorry for having to kill you so soon, Dizzy, we literally barely knew you ^^: To replace Dizzy, I put in Runaa to help Doomy since she is the only other level 8 dragon. And, just to prove my point with the exemption rule, even Runaa’s addition wasn’t enough to help against the Scorched Forest and everyone kept fainting . . . So yeah this took a while ! Luckily, once we finally managed to win a match, it got much easier as we went on as Sharice leveled up and could finally help fight. In the end, Doomy and Runaa got to level 9 and Sharice joins Cameron at level 6 ! Hopefully this is a good thing :^) And we got a familiar drop ! Technically, the familiar that dropped in the coli was another zeeba, but because you can’t put a second copy of a familiar onto a different dragon, the drop was changed to be a rambra instead, which goes to Sharice ! So not only do Sharice and Cameron share a level, but they also each have 2 extra lives (plus technically they also share a familiar) ! Since Dizzy has died, she is now on the exaltation block. She’ll be in my lair until the next day is posted, so if you wish to have her, feel free to tell me here ! If not, then she’ll be heading off to the Arcanist. Now let’s hope Pinkerton is a little more forgiving in the future ^^; [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52278424]<- Day 16[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52315298]Day 18 ->[/url][/right]

[center][b]Day 18[/b] [item=serpae tetras] Food : 30 - 40 Matches ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592554][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592554p.png[/img][/url][/center] It’s when Krislyassa feels the first drop that Ivette speaks. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592552][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592552p.png[/img][/url][/center] “They’re taking a long time to get back . . .” Krislyassa hums worriedly, looking up at the dark sky. She feels another drop on her cheek and feels a sense of dread come over her. “We should go try and find them.” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592553][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592553p.png[/img][/url][/center] “What?” Mordeyrin balks. “Why would we do that?” “Well, what if they’re in trouble and need our help?” Ivette says as she stands up, stretching out her long body. “Besides, it’s boring just waiting here.” “Runaa wouldn’t let us go out,” Mordeyrin mutters with a glance towards the tundra. “Runaa is too busy trying to make Cameron stay here to notice if we sneak off,” Ivette laughs. True enough, Krislyassa sees Runaa in a quiet argument with Cameron, Akali lying nearby with Dia and watching with a disinterested gaze. She feels the brief need to go over and help settle Cameron down; she is his friend, after all. But if her sister is thinking of sneaking off, then she can’t afford to split her attention to someone else. Besides, it [i]has[/i] been a long time since Doomy and the two bogsneaks left. And she’s felt a couple more raindrops since this conversation started, and didn’t Doomy say that they would be back before then? As her thoughts begin to spiral, Ivette sighs and takes a step in the direction Doomy and the others went. “You both can stay here if you want, but I’m going to go see what’s up.” Krislyassa immediately stands up. “I’ll come with you.” Mordeyrin is quick to follow suit. “Wait, don’t forget me.” Ivette smiles at them both. “All right then, let’s go before Runaa remembers that her precious tundras aren’t the only ones here.” It’s easy to sneak off; Ivette is right that Runaa only seems to have eyes on Cameron, who also seems too preoccupied with Runaa’s firm stance to notice that they’ve snuck off either. Krislyassa only hopes that he won’t be mad at her later for going off without him. Ivette leads the way through the woods, only pausing briefly when a large lightning flash and boom of thunder shock all of them. Once that’s passed, Ivette continues on in the same direction. A little while later, Krislyassa notices Mordeyrin frowning. “Do you even know where you’re going? How do you know Doomy even went this way?” Mordeyrin asks. “Well, I don’t,” Ivette mutters, “but it’s not like you two know, either. Besides, walking like this still beats sitting around camp and watching Runaa and Cameron go through the same arguments over and over and-” She cuts herself off and stops walking. Krislyassa stops beside her and quickly looks around. “What is it?” Mordeyrin whispers, her body curling in on itself behind them. “Shh,” Ivette hisses, her gaze fixed ahead of them. As they stand there, the rain finally starts to come down around them. Krislyassa is about to ask what exactly she hears before she herself starts to hear something over the sound of the rain. Something’s heading this way. Fear shoots its arrow into her heart, but before she can think of whether running away or standing her ground would be the better option, two large figures burst through the underbrush. Krisylassa recognizes Doomy immediately, but does a double take at what looks to be Dia at first glance. Dia, who they definitely left behind with Cameron at camp. How did it get in front of them? And why does it have Sharice on its back? She glances between them and feels the dread come back over her. [i]Where’s Dizzy?[/i] [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] And luck smiles on us today ! All three spiral siblings were chosen, so we got a nice, easy day in the Training Fields. No close calls, no worries. Now the three of them are at level 4, which evens things out a little bit ! I will say that I’m a bit worried for Akali, who is now the only level 1 dragon . . . I feel like he’s being ignored, though that might be a good thing ^^; We’ll see what happens, as always ! At least now if Doomy or Runaa are chosen for the coli, we have only a small chance of a level 1 dragon joining them (though a level 4 dragon is still not the best with a level 9 dragon . . .) [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52294040]<- Day 17[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52316525]Day 19 ->[/url][/right]

[center][b]Day 19[/b] [item=old emptied nest] Material : Write ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/61964042][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/619641/61964042p.png[/img][/url][/center] Doomy can only helplessly watch as Sharice makes another attempt to go around the new creature. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754993][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754993p.png[/img][/url][/center] “I said get out of my way!” Sharice cries, and tries to leap and fly over it once more. [center][item=rambra][/center] The creature simply calmly matches her jump and knocks her to the ground again. Doomy winces, knowing that by now, Sharice should be covered in bruises. “Why won’t you let me go?!” She yells and tries again, only for the same thing to happen. This has been going on for some time now, ever since the creature had unceremoniously dumped Sharice into the center of their camp. Doomy had been momentarily distracted by running into the spiral siblings well outside the camp where they should not have been, but she had managed to catch Sharice’s first failed attempt to go back into the woods. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/39515954][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/395160/39515954p.png[/img][/url][/center] “Are you all right?” Doomy tears her eyes away from the scene and looks at Runaa, who comes to sit next to her and watch Sharice with a deep frown. She had half-expected Runaa to be mad at her. To demand why she let another dragon under her care be lost. But Doomy knows Runaa better. The first thing she did when they had all arrived back at camp and she had learned of what happened was lightly scolding the spirals about sneaking out, which Ivette clearly tuned out. It was hard to tell if the other two took Runaa’s warning to heart, however, since they seemed shaken up and distracted by Sharice’s spectacle. And now Runaa has sent them to sit with Cameron and Akali, who hover nervously near where they sleep. Dia stands near them, a clear reminder that this creature blocking Sharice is a newcomer. “I . . . don’t know,” Doomy answers quietly. She thinks that she should be more affected by this. Sure, she didn’t know Dizzy like she had Cloud or Collin, but she still knew her. She was still in charge of making sure she came back okay. And yet here they were, yet again, one dragon short. But really, instead of the same feeling of intense guilt and remorse she felt after Collin disappeared, she only feels numb. And that scares her. Runaa leans into her side. “It’s not your fault. No one can predict a storm, much less a lightning strike like that.” But she knew the storm was about to hit them. She had felt the raindrops. She had made a promise to head back as soon as possible. It is her fault, isn’t it? In the middle of the clearing, Sharice gets up from the ground yet again, but instead of trying another maneuver, she instead glares at the creature. “I need to go!” She yells as she stands her ground. “I need to go back to her!” Her claws sink into the wet ground. The rain has lessened by now, but lightning still occasionally lights up the clearing. “I need to go back! She needs me! Don’t you get it? She’s terrified of being by herself! She needs me!” Sharice bends down, and Doomy thinks she’s about to try flying over the creature again, but instead, she just sinks down to the ground, sobbing. Then, someone approaches her shaking form. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62447023][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/624471/62447023p.png[/img][/url][/center] Of all dragons, it’s Akali who slowly sits down next to Sharice. Akali, who has shown no interest in getting to know any of the newer dragons. Doomy watches in awe as he kneels next to Sharice, who doesn’t immediately throw him back. He leans in and says something to her, something that has her crying even harder, but also something that has some of the tension in her body release. Sharice deflates before their eyes, and leans heavily against Akali, who barely manages to keep them both upright. The sight does something to Doomy, who suddenly feels a large lump form in her throat. “Sorry, I-” she chokes out, then quickly turns and hurries to her nest. “Doomy?” she hears Runaa call out, but she ignores her in favor of picking up her pace. She passes by Cameron and the others, who look at her with looks of concern and curiosity, before she turns the corner and dives into her nest. That’s when the tears hit her. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] Sad day for our dragons :( But a break from the coli at least. [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52315298]<- Day 18[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52325234]Day 20 ->[/url][/right]

[center][b]Day 20[/b] [item=wisp fruit] Food : 10 - 20 Matches ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62447023][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/624471/62447023p.png[/img][/url][/center] When Sharice had collapsed in on herself, Akali had known exactly what to do. Before he can think otherwise, his feet are moving towards her. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62447022][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/624471/62447022p.png[/img][/url][/center] “Akali, what-” Cameron starts to say, but he’s already halfway there. When he reaches Sharice’s side, he simply kneels down next to her and whispers, “It’s okay.” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754993][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754993p.png[/img][/url][/center] Sharice cuts him a glance, as if daring him to say more. He, however, ignores the sharp look. “She’s okay,” he adds quietly, which makes Sharice still. “She will be okay.” “How do you know,* she mutters, almost too quiet for him to hear. “You didn’t know her.” “No,” he consents, “but I did see her before you all left. I saw her willing to go. She was confident. She was ready. She was brave.” Sharice chokes on another sob. “So I know that even if you’re not with her, she will be okay. She’s brave enough for that. She will be okay.” The words come easy for Akali. Though he hasn’t experienced the same loss as Sharice, he has still experienced loss. He doesn’t remember Cloud, who Doomy and Runaa sometimes talk about when they’re feeling wistful, but he remembers Collin. They were like siblings, in a way. An older brother to both him and Cameron, who tolerated them when they asked to play. Akali remembers the confusion when he left, and the grief of knowing that he wasn’t coming back. And so, he tells Sharice the words he’s told himself many, many times since Collin left. [i]It’s okay. He’s okay. He will be okay.[/i] Maybe the words aren’t exactly true. But he has one more phrase to add on that he knows beyond doubt is true. “[i]You[/i] will be okay.” Sharice breaks down completely, finally letting the tension go from her body. She slumps, her body weight leaning directly into Akali. He steadies them both with a little difficulty (Sharice is almost twice as large as him), and continues to whisper these phrases for Sharice as she cries. He sees movement out of the corner of his eye and looks up just in time to see Doomy race to where the sleeping quarters are. She quickly brushes past Cameron and the others, and after she’s gone, Akali’s eyes happen to meet Mordeyrin’s. There’s some emotion in her gaze, but before he can tell what it is, she’s already looking away. Sharice was right. He did not know Dizzy. He also does not know Sharice, or any of the spiral siblings. He thought that maybe putting distance between himself and them would lessen the blow if they all happened to disappear like Collin did. But now that one of them is gone, he knows that he was wrong. The blow has struck, and he feels it all the same. No, he doesn’t know the others. Maybe it’s time that changed. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] Another coli day, this one a bit more stressful, but in the end, uneventful. Akali was the first dragon chosen, because of course he was, but thankfully we got Sharice and Mordeyrin to help him through the Woodland Path. Still a few close calls, which I avoided either by healing with the minor health potions they’ve been finding (you can see their supplies on the inventory post on the first page of this thread) or just outright fleeing when it’s obvious that someone’s not gonna make it ^^; I don’t want another dragon to die just yet ! We’re still dealing with the effects of the last death ! So anyway, all three dragons made it out alive, and now Akali is at level 4, Mordeyrin is at level 5, and Sharice is at level 7. No more level 1 dragons atm ! Still a bit nervous about Doomy and Runaa being level 9, but we’re closing some gaps at least. Guess we’ll see what happens next time ! [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52316525]<- Day 19[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52333571]Day 21 ->[/url][/right]

@tskumoyuuma

I am loving this! I'm so glad you continued to do this locke, cause I am invested in these characters! (I was so sad when I found out Cloud died, but how you wrote her leaving was heartbreakingly beautiful!)

I'd love to be added to the pinglist!

@SakuraSundae

Thank you ! I'm glad you enjoy it so far ! I'll add you to the pinglist right away :>

[center][b]Day 21[/b] [item=armored catfish] Food : 30 - 40 Matches ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/61964042][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/619641/61964042p.png[/img][/url][/center] Doomy is woken in the middle of the night by frantic pushing. She jolts awake instantly. “Wha-” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62592554][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/625926/62592554p.png[/img][/url][/center] “Cameron’s gone,” Krislyassa interrupts, and the fear of her words are enough to get her on her feet in a flash. She glances around at the nests, sees everyone else sleeping where they’re supposed to be. Except Cameron’s nest is empty, and both he and Dia are nowhere to be seen. “I just woke up and noticed he wasn’t here,” Krisylassa says quietly. No one else is awake yet. “I thought maybe he was just out, you know, for some fresh air, But I waited and waited and he’s still not back and I think-” She cuts herself off. Doomy, whose thoughts have been flying, pins her gaze on her. “What do you think?” She hesitates before whispering, “before we went to sleep, after Sharice had calmed down, Cameron mentioned that there might still be a chance that Dizzy’s alive. The rain came down pretty hard, so it might have extinguished the fire that trapped her. I told him that it’s been too long and it’s too late to do anything, but he seemed resolute.” Of course. Of course Cameron would try and look for Dizzy. Of course this had to happen again, right now. “And you didn’t tell anyone about this?!” Doomy hisses. She feels a familiar anger well up inside of her, an anger towards herself for not thinking this was something Cameron would do. She thought she had at least another day. “I didn’t think he would go in the middle of the night,” Krislyassa says weakly. “I thought I managed to convince him to at least sleep on the idea and bring it up to you and Runaa in the morning. Everyone was tired and hurting, and Cameron was already fast asleep when I got settled into my own nest.” She pauses and adds on, barely audible, “or, I thought he was . . .” Doomy closes her eyes and tries to take a deep breath. There’s more she wants to say to her, but they’re already wasting so much time just standing here talking. Who knows how much of a lead Cameron has on them. “Runaa,” she calls in a raised voice, not caring who else she wakes up with it. When she sees Runaa’s light green eyes blink open, she says in a grim voice, “Cameron’s gone. We need to go, now.” What happens next is a scramble. Her announcement and the subsequent panic cause everyone to wake up, and several voices ask what’s going on. She ignores them and says to Runaa, “He’s heading towards where we were yesterday. I’ll go there first and-” [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62754993][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/627550/62754993p.png[/img][/url] [item=rambra][/center] “I’m coming, too.” Doomy looks and sees Sharice standing firmly beside them. Just behind her, Doomy sees the new creature - no, familiar also stand at the ready. Sharice must have connected the dots and realized what Doomy purposefully didn’t say. “No,” she says firmly. Already in her mind’s eye can she see Sharice also charging off to where she last saw Dizzy, never to be seen again. “He’s gone after Dizzy, hasn’t he?” Sharice says, ignoring her completely. “Then I have to come with. If he’s gone out there for my sister, then I need to.” Doomy opens her mouth to argue with her more, but she stops herself. They’re wasting time again. As much as it pains her to say, she grits out a “fine,” then adds on quickly, “but you will not leave my side, okay? No going ahead and no going back without me, okay?” Sharice looks like she might protest, but thankfully just purses her lips and nods. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/39515954][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/395160/39515954p.png[/img][/url][/center] “Doomy,” Runaa says, and she recognizes that tone of voice. It’s the same tone she used after Doomy spent countless days in the woods searching for Collin. It’s the tone that says she thinks it’s useless. But she can’t believe that. Not yet. “I need to look for him,” she murmurs to her. “Just this once.” Runaa’s frowning, and Doomy can already see the grief in her eyes, but she relents with a small nod. “Keep everyone here, [i]please[/i],” Doomy almost pleads before she beckons Sharice to follow her. The sound of smaller footsteps behind them both tell Doomy that the familiar has also followed them, and briefly she wonders why it’s letting Sharice go back into the woods now when before it was so determined to not let her pass. Not that it matters at the moment. It’s a quiet and tense journey. Doomy is running as fast as she can, trying to look for any signs that Cameron had gone the same way. But she knows that with her vision, even as the Starwood trees dimly light the way, can’t see everything that they pass. She hopes that Sharice is at least being just as vigilant. In the end, it’s Sharice who spots something. “Wait,” she calls out, and the two of them skid to a halt. Sharice is looking at something on the ground that Doomy can’t quite make out. The familiar is the one that goes to investigate it first, but when it reaches whatever it is, it lets out a long, mournful cry. Doomy takes a few steps forward before freezing. Before them is a lifeless body, blood drying on the ground around it. It’s Dia. And there’s too much blood to have come from it alone. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~~ @SakuraSundae[/center] Akali last entry : I haven’t experienced a loss like Sharice has. Pinkerton : . . . yet :) So I’ve found out that Pinkerton really likes giving me seafood pulls ^^; Of course this entry was a seafood pull, and of course Doomy had to be chosen, so off we went to the Sandswept Delta. I thought maybe I had been given a slight break though, since the other two dragons that were chosen were Cameron and Sharice, aka the two dragons who both had two extra lives. Surely this meant we could squeeze by without adding another death to the mix . . . ! Nope ^^; To be fair to Cameron, he [i]allllmost[/i] made it ! We were in the home stretch, less than 10 matches to go, when he got hit with a super effective wind move >.> And I was trying so hard to not let anyone die this time ! If only it had been an insect pull instead, then he probably would have made it . . . He at least made it to level 8, though, so I’m proud of him :’) After he died, I replaced Cameron with Runaa to help get through the rest of the matches. And since we didn’t have to worry about another dragon dying, it went much faster. As for the other dragons, Doomy made it to level 10 and Sharice got to level 8. Sharice also lost one of her extra lives, but she still has her familiar with her (though she might not be happy about that haha). Now, unlike Dizzy, Cameron will not be up for grabs. As I said in an earlier entry, I’ve grown attached to him, so even though he may be dead in this Pinkerlocke, his spirit will live on [s]in my hibernal den[/s]. So, we now have a dragon who is at level 10, which seems like both a blessing and a curse ^^; We’ll see if Doomy’s success in the coli will spell the (ahem) doom of another weaker dragon . . . [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/4#post_52325234]<- Day 20[/url] [right][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2875161/5#post_52343211]Day 22 ->[/url][/right]